Milestone inspections and reserve studies: what changed for Florida condo buildings

After the Surfside collapse, Florida put in place a structural inspection regime for condominium and cooperative buildings of three or more storeys. Two pieces matter to anyone buying, lending on or managing one. The first is the milestone inspection: a structural review by a licensed engineer or architect once a building reaches a certain age, with a follow-up phase if the first phase finds deterioration. The second is the structural integrity reserve study, which prices the major components — roof, load-bearing walls, waterproofing, plumbing, electrical and more — and sets what has to be funded. The consequence that reaches owners is budgetary. Associations previously able to vote to waive or underfund reserves for these components can no longer do so in the same way. Buildings that deferred for years are now facing the accumulated number at once, and it arrives as a special assessment. For a buyer that means the association's financial statements, the reserve study and the milestone report are not optional reading. A unit priced below the market in an older building is frequently priced that way because a known assessment is coming. For an owner it means the reserve line in the budget is now closer to a real cost of ownership than it used to be. The legislature has adjusted the details more than once since the original law, so the operative question is always what the current requirement is for that specific building. This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules change and every deal is different — check your own case with a licensed professional. Alberto Zaltzberg — Adonait · adonait.com